Welcome to Consumer Rescue
Fiascos and Fixes
Consumer reporter and ombudsman
Maria Witbrod wanted to add a new puppy to her family during the pandemic. But instead, a well-organized criminal operation led her into a costly and increasingly common pet scam.
$4,000 later, and with no dog to show for it, she’s asking if our advocacy team can help her.
But how?
Despite the popular belief to the contrary, in the U.S., you are not owed a free hotel if your flight is delayed and you get stranded overnight on your journey. And that is true no matter what the reason for the delay.
But if a friendly gate agent offers a hotel reimbursement to a passenger in distress, shouldn’t the airline pay the bill?
If American Airlines delays or cancels your flight home from vacation, what does it really owe you?
That’s what Mikayla Shade wants to know after finding herself in this unfortunate situation. She says an American Airlines agent told her that when the airline cancels a flight, the passenger will receive a full refund. Mikayla used that guidance to determine her budget for a new flight home. It wasn’t until American Airlines processed her “full refund” that she discovered she’d relied on incorrect guidance from the agent.
Now Mikayla wants our team to ask American Airlines to provide what its representative promised her.
During her recent cruise, Natalie Durflinger got a terrible shock when the ship left her behind in Mexico. She says the MSC Divina weighed anchor nearly 5 hours ahead of schedule, stranding her in only a bathing suit and flip-flops. Now she’s asking the cruise line to explain how this happened and to refund the vacation she missed when the ship sailed away without her.
But did MSC allow its cruise ship to sail away without warning leaving its passengers abandoned in a foreign country? That’s the question of the day.
It isn’t just wishful thinking to say that every consumer can get excellent customer service. But it does take some effort and strategy.
During my many years as a consumer advocate, I’ve tackled some of the most shocking customer service failures imaginable. I’ve retrieved hundreds of thousands of dollars from companies for consumers who were on the verge of giving up.
What if you had a newly minted enemy and Royal Caribbean allowed that person to cancel your cruise?
That’s what Rita Yates believes happened to her recently. When she called to make the final payment on her upcoming sailing, an RCCL agent explained that the cruise Rita intended to take to celebrate her 40th anniversary no longer existed. Assuming that the cancellation was another casualty of the pandemic, Rita asked why the cruise line hadn’t informed her sooner.
That’s when Royal Caribbean gave Rita an even bigger surprise: Explorer of the Seas would be sailing as scheduled. In fact, the RCCL representative explained, records showed Yates had canceled her own cruise – and forfeited her deposit.
Rita says she absolutely did not cancel her cruise, but she believes she knows the troublemaker who did. Now, with Royal Caribbean unwilling to refund her deposit or reinstate the voyage, she’s asking for help.
But with police reports, lawsuits, and other threats being tossed about, that might be a lofty request for a consumer advocate.
A few days before Christmas, Robin Shermon was shocked to learn about the PayPal Key in the most terrible way. That’s when she found that a hacker had created a PayPal Key for her and made a $2,000 purchase using her cash.
Now Shermon hopes that our advocacy team can get her hard-earned money back.